Chapter 12

Sunday– late afternoon Back at the prom we headed straight for the café to tell Agung and Oli the excellent news. We hadn't been gone that long so I figured they were probably still digging into their hideous freakshakes. But when we walked in, there was no sign of them. Just a group of builders inhaling platters of all-day breakfasts and a woman feeding her whippet a custard slice.

星期天，下午晚些时候，回到舞会，我们直奔咖啡馆，告诉阿贡和奥利这个好消息。 我们离开的时间不长，所以我想他们可能还在挖掘他们可怕的怪癖。 但是当我们走进去的时候，没有他们的踪迹。 只有一群建筑工在大口大口地吃着全天早餐还有一个女人在给她的惠比特狗喂蛋奶沙司。

I had instructed Oli not to move but I should have learned by now that he always does the opposite of what I tell him. It is infuriating. 'Maybe they've gone for a little lie-down after all that sugar,' said Dev. 'I'm the one that needs a flipping lie-down!' I said, patting my sweaty brow with a napkin. 'Why don't you call them?' said Dev. 'Good idea,' I replied, fumbling for my phone. I dialled Agung's doddery old person's phone, but he didn't pick up.

我曾指示奥利不要动，但我现在应该知道，他总是与我告诉他的相反。 这令人愤怒。“也许吃了那么多糖之后，他们去躺一会儿了。”戴夫说。 “我才是那个需要躺下休息的人！”我说着，用餐巾拍了拍我汗津津的额头。 “你为什么不给他们打电话呢？”戴夫说。 “好主意，”我回答道，一边摸索着手机。 我拨通了阿贡年迈老人的电话，但他没有接。

GREAT. What was the point of having a portable communication device if he never used it?! I calmed myself down by thinking about gerbils sitting in eggcups. It was proving quite effective, so I added on a few tuxedos, monocles and daisy hats. CUUUUUUTE. 'Maddy...' shouted Dev. 'MADDY!' 'Oh sorry, I was daydreaming,' I said. 'About what?'

好了。如果他从不使用便携通讯设备，那有什么意义？我想了想沙鼠坐在蛋杯里的情景，让自己平静下来。 事实证明这很有效，所以我又穿上了几件燕尾服，戴上了单片眼镜和雏菊帽。 CUUUUUUTE。“曼迪…戴夫喊道。 “麦迪!“哦，对不起，我在做白日梦，”我说。 “什么?”

'You really don't need to know,' I told him. Dev agreed and said, 'Listen, if we want to get on THE MEGA BEAST, we need to find Agung and Oli, like NOW.' 'What about your gammy foot?' I asked. 'Don't worry, I've got it covered, literally,' said Dev, showing me a dozen layers of blister patches stuck over his wound.

“你真的不需要知道，”我告诉他。 戴夫同意了，并说：“听着，如果我们想登上巨兽，我们需要找到阿贡和奥利，就像现在一样。”“那你的瘸腿呢？”我问。 “别担心，我已经把它盖好了，真的。”戴夫说着，给我看了他伤口上贴着的十几层水泡。

We couldn't work out where to search first. They wouldn't have gone to the high street. They had run out of things to sniff and prod ages ago. And they couldn't be on the beach as Oli had the same dislike of sand-in-between-toes chafing as me.

我们不知道从哪里开始找。 他们不会去商业街的。 他们很久以前就没有东西可以嗅和戳了。 他们不能在海滩上，因为奥利和我一样不喜欢脚趾间的沙子摩擦。

Then I had a thought. 'Do you know what I reckon?' I said. 'That the earth is flat?' said Dev. 'No.' 'That the moon is made of cheese?' 'NO.' 'That the Tooth Fairy doesn't exist?' 'HOW VERY DARE YOU!' Sometimes the nonsense that comes out of that lad's mouth makes me want to put a bucket over his head and bang it repeatedly with a wooden spoon until he sees sense. 'What then?' he asked.

然后我有了一个想法。“你知道我是怎么想的吗？ ”我说。 “地球是平的？”戴夫说。 “不。“月亮是奶酪做的？”“没有。“说牙仙不存在？”“你胆子真大！”有时候，从那个小伙子嘴里说出来的废话让我想把一个桶放在他的头上，用木勺反复敲打它，直到他明白过来。 “什么?他问。